Shin-getsu sneered inwardly.
Gossip?
It was probably more than just gossip.
Some people would think he was a genius.
Some would think he was trouble.
Others might want to use what had happened to him last night to further drive a wedge between the Uchiha and Konoha High Command.
The Uchiha had never been of one mind.
The Radical Faction, the conservatives, the clan head's faction.
Everyone had their own ideas.
Shisui looked at Shin-getsu and suddenly said earnestly, "I'm sorry about what happened last night."
Shin-getsu raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Why are you apologizing?"
Shisui said, "I'm an Uchiha too."
"A child was attacked in the clan district, and we failed to notice in time."
"That was our failure."
Shin-getsu looked at Shisui and sighed quietly to himself.
That was just the kind of person Shisui was.
Gentle, sincere, kind.
He took too much responsibility upon himself.
And that was precisely why he naively thought he could use Kotoamatsukami to resolve the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha.
In Shisui's view, as long as he stopped the coup, changed his clanmates' minds, and maintained peace in the village, bloodshed could be avoided.
But if the Uchiha didn't stage a coup, would Konoha High Command leave them alone?
Would Danzo?
Would Obito?
Would Black Zetsu?
No.
Shisui's naivety would only get him killed in the end, along with the Uchiha.
Shin-getsu suddenly spoke.
"Shisui, senpai."
Shisui paused.
"What is it?"
Shin-getsu asked, "If I'd been taken away last night, what would you have done?"
Shisui's expression shifted slightly.
He hadn't expected Shin-getsu to ask that.
He thought for a moment, then said, "I would have done everything I could to save you."
Shin-getsu pressed on. "What if it was already too late to save me?"
Shisui fell silent for a moment.
"Then I would have found out the truth."
Shin-getsu looked at him.
"What if, after investigating, you found out that someone from the village was responsible?"
The smile slowly faded from Shisui's face.
It was almost the same question Shin-getsu had just asked Itachi.
But unlike Itachi, who would consider the bigger picture, Shisui would try to find a peaceful solution.
Sure enough, Shisui said solemnly, "If someone from the village really did it, we should tell Lord Hokage."
"Lord Hokage would handle it."
Shin-getsu smiled.
Shisui frowned.
"What are you smiling about?"
Shin-getsu said, "What if Lord Hokage knew, but couldn't do anything about it?"
"He would," Shisui replied at once.
Shin-getsu looked at him, his tone mild.
"Shisui, how do you know he would?"
Shisui was at a loss for words.
Shin-getsu continued, "What if the person responsible was someone even Lord Hokage couldn't easily deal with?"
"What if that person hurt the Uchiha in the name of protecting the village?"
"What if, in the name of the greater good, those of us who were hurt were expected to swallow it?"
The atmosphere in the hospital room suddenly grew heavy.
Shisui looked at Shin-getsu, his eyes full of conflicted emotion.
He'd only come to visit an injured junior from his clan.
He'd also wanted to calm him down and keep last night's events from making him resent the village too deeply.
But now he realized he might have underestimated Shin-getsu.
This nine-year-old child didn't need to be comforted.
Nor was he simply blinded by hatred.
Every question he asked struck straight at the sharpest point of the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha.
Shisui was silent for a moment before saying, "Shin-getsu, I know you went through something terrible last night."
"But the village isn't our enemy."
"There are many innocent people in the village."
"If the Uchiha and the village keep opposing each other, more people will only get hurt."
Shin-getsu nodded.
"I agree."
Shisui was taken aback.
He hadn't expected Shin-getsu to agree so readily.
But Shin-getsu continued, "What I want to ask is, why is it always the Uchiha who are asked to back down first whenever people talk about avoiding conflict?"
Shisui's expression changed slightly.
Shin-getsu spoke slowly. "We're suspected, and we're told to endure it."
"We're moved to the edge of the village, and we're told to endure it."
"Our clanmates are watched, and we're told to endure it."
"Last night, I almost got taken away to be used as a test subject. If there's no evidence, are we supposed to endure that too?"
"Shisui, senpai."
"You say there are innocent people in the village."
"But are there no innocent people among the Uchiha?"
Shisui fell completely silent.
Shin-getsu's voice was quiet.
Yet every word was like a shuriken lodging itself in his heart.
Of course he knew there were innocent people among the Uchiha.
Of course he knew his clanmates had suffered a great deal of injustice.
But he had always believed that if both sides held back, and there was still room for communication, things wouldn't reach the worst possible outcome.
Yet Shin-getsu's questions forced him to face a reality.
It seemed that the Uchiha were the only ones ever expected to show restraint.
The suspicion of the village leadership had never stopped.
And Root had already reached its hands into the clan district.
Shisui took a deep breath.
"So, what do you want to do?"
Shin-getsu didn't answer immediately.
He looked at Shisui, his expression calm.
"I'm too weak right now. I can't do anything."
"But there's one thing I know."
Shisui asked, "What?"
Shin-getsu said each word carefully. "Peace can't be bought by sacrificing innocent people."
"And it certainly can't be bought by twisting the will of our own people."
Shisui's pupils contracted sharply.
For a moment, he almost thought Shin-getsu knew something.
Kotoamatsukami.
His Mangekyo ability.
It could permanently change a person's will without them ever realizing it.
That was Shisui's greatest secret.
Very few people knew about it.
Even within the clan, hardly anyone knew the truth.
Yet Shin-getsu's words had sounded as if they were pointed straight at his eyes.
Twisting someone's will.
Those words stirred a storm in Shisui's heart.
He asked, keeping his voice even, "Why bring that up all of a sudden?"
Shin-getsu replied flatly, "Because I think it would be tragic if someone tried to achieve peace by controlling their comrades' minds."
Shisui's fingers tightened slightly inside his sleeve.
In that moment, his view of Shin-getsu changed completely.
He no longer saw merely an injured junior.
He saw a dangerous observer who could see too much.
Shin-getsu knew very well that he was taking a risk with those words.
But he had to give Shisui a warning in advance.
Kotoamatsukami was one of the most crucial variables before the clan's destruction.
If Shisui kept thinking he could use Kotoamatsukami to change the clan head's will, Danzo would eventually set his sights on him.
Shin-getsu needed to make Shisui doubt that path before then.
Even if only a little.
Sure enough, a system notification sounded in his mind.
[Host has influenced a key figure: Uchiha Shisui.] [Uchiha Shisui's predetermined thought trajectory has shifted.] [Acquired Causality Points: 500.] [Current Causality Points: 500.]
A glint flashed deep in Shin-getsu's eyes.
Just a few words had earned him five hundred Causality Points.
As expected of Shisui.
The value of a key figure far exceeded that of an ordinary ninja.
Shisui stood by the bed, saying nothing for a long while.
At last, he slowly let out a breath and gave a gentle smile again.
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